Senate passes animal-human hybrid research ban

BATON ROUGE -- The Senate voted without debate or dissent today to outlaw research designed to create animal-human hybrids, a practice that is apparently not occurring in the state but is cast by legislative critics as a potential violation of Louisiana's ethics and morals.

Senate Bill 115 by Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Kenner, lays out specific scientific acts that would result in jail time and fines for researchers and others who profit from such activities.

Senators raised no questions before sending the bill to the House with a 38-0 vote. In a Senate committee last week, senators heard from impassioned supporters and, separately, from one scientist who warned such restrictions could send intellectual capital and research money elsewhere.

Under Martiny's bill, violators would be subject to a prison term of as long as 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000. Profiting from the forbidden activity would command additional civil fines of $1 million or double the gain from the research, whichever is greater.

Martiny said the civil fine is targeted at researchers and other primary employers or executives of research operations rather than unwitting shareholders of an offending entity.

Dorinda Bordlee, a frequent Capitol presence representing the Bioethics Defense Fund, said during the committee hearing that she does not know of any such research occurring in Louisiana. But lawmakers, she said, should be proactive in preventing the activities.

A stem cell researcher from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge told lawmakers they generally should resist limitations on research opportunities. "There are no mad scientists at our state institutions," Dr. Jeffrey Gimble said, in response to a comment made by Martiny. "Anything that's going to criminalize scientific activity could potentially restrict our ability to recruit young scientists to our state."

Bordlee said: "Businesses don't like regulation. Scientists don't like regulation." But she said the state has a compelling interest to prevent research that she said violates society's collective moral and ethical standard.

The bill would outlaw attempts to create a human-animal hybrid; transferring a human embryo into a nonhuman womb; or transferring a nonhuman embryo into a human womb. The bill includes a lengthy passage of specific definitions of "human-animal hybrid" and other terms used in the section detailing the acts that would be illegal.

Bordlee said the clarifications ensure that ongoing research and medical activities are not affected. Examples include the use of animal parts in surgery, research or medical treatments.

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Bill Barrow can be reached at bbarrow@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5590.